Receptacle.



H. B. RICH.-

.REcEPTAcLE. APPLICATION lFILED APH-5.19m.

v I/wenor:

Patented Jan. 1, '1918.

.- ain that'i't may Vbe manufactured at sinallfcost vnonna B; manger ALLsToN, MAssAcrrUsETTs." I

RECEPTACL'E. i y 1 yof Allston, in thev county of, Suffolk and State of'lwlassachusetts, have inyentedV nevv and useful Improvementsin `Receptacles, of which the following is ajspeciiication.

l This invention relates to a vessel having a pivotal lid, which hasbeen designed particularlyfor vuse as a sputum cup yand'which is preferably constructed of paperoid so and be Vdestroyed vafter use, although, any suitable sheet material, "such ash ordinary paper of suitable stiffness, metalloid, or eyen fiexiblefshcet metal may be employed .and thevessel may be constructedof any shape and, of any size foi-any desiredpurpose, such as for use as a drinking cup,lu nch box, garbage-receptacle, etc. Y

It has been proposed to construct sputum cups byprovidingeach cup withl atab comel prising an extension of. a portion offone side of the cup or box, forming a lid or cover with a slot fitting over the tab to constitute a pivot, and holding the lid in place by means of an elastic band passed around the box and through notches in the edges of the cover near the pivotal edge. .Such-boxes are fairly satisfactory when properly adjusted and intelligently used, but it has been found that When used in hospitals by patients in weakened condition, dii'liculty is experienced in raising the lid and maintaining it open against the action of the elastic band. Furthermore, there has been a. tendency for the lid to slip ofi' of the tab when the device is Ac-lumsily used by such persons.

One obj ect of my inventionv is to overcome the above objections by providing a vfastening means on the tab, preferably in the form of a tongue integral with the tab, to prevent the cover from slipping ofi' thetab and at' the same time to act as a resilient cover closing device, thus eliminating the necessity for an elastic band. Another object is -to construct the vessel of blanks formed. from the sheet material in such a Way that a minimum number of blanks is required, preferably only tivo, and to so shape the lid and vessel including the tab and tongue that only a single stamping or cutting operation is required to completely form the blanks y for the box and cover, respectively, thus affording an exceedingly economical construction. A further object is to so form Specification of Letters Patent. v Y Application led April 5, 1916. l' Seli'ii'allilo. 88,9797

Patented Jan, 1,1918.

uitjpiygtai 'egalitarian 'aaa ai@ ua Yviii i at all times be'pressed in the direction of lits closed` positionfby the pivotal connection, Y

thus automatically closing the Jvessel and also holding thelid more ,tightly Yagainst ,the ves sel ivhen closed position.. Y l i l f1 y t inthe accompanying drawings.A which' illustrate one embodiment of 771700,37.' inventiomf 1 .,Figureil isa longitudinal,sectional vieu7 AFig. 2 is a front elevationgq v ig. 3 isa detail se tionalyi'eivshoiving the lid 1n elevated position; and.

Fig. 4, is a detailsectionalvieiv ofla modi-l lied vformof the invention. y y

In vthe embodiment of my inventionillus-A trated in Figs. l to`33, thebox B, which may befof Yany lordinary yform "except :as hereinafter setlfortlnisprovidedl fatone side with .one orinore tabs B', l. preferably .by4 leaving one or' more extensions of'fsuitable length and breadth ,on .the side of. thebox ywhen :stamping the blank therefor. By lthe same Astamping operation a U-shaped tongue B2 may be conveniently cut in each tab Bv.

The lid C may be of the same material as the box, although I prefer tov construct it of stiffer material When employing paperoid, and a slo-t C of suitable length and breadth to receive the tab B is provided transversely of the lid. After the lid is placed in positionivith the tab projecting through the slot, the tongue 2 is sprung into the position shown in Fig. l.

When the lid is raised the tab Bv flexes! backwardly as shown in Fig. 3, and the portion of the lid extending over the pivotal edge of the vessel engages the side of the lvessel thus preventing the lid from` being rotated through more than' approximately ninety degrees. The tab B has sufficient resiliency to close the lid even When the latv lower side thereof. Theextension B3 of the box B mayor may not extend the full- Width of the box. The tongue C3 serves to auto-` matically close the lid and to press the lid against the top of the vessel when closed. l

Instead of employing only a single tab and a single slot the pivotal connection may obviously consist of two or more tabs and slots.

'What I claim is: Y

l. A vessel, a lid therefor, the lid having a transverse slot therein, and a member on said vessel projecting through said slot, and yielding means at the pivotal connection for retaining the lid on the vessel and for yieldingly urging the lid toward theclosed position.

2. A vessel, a lid therefor, and a pivotal connection 'between said vessel and said lid comprising a slot in said lid and a tab on said vessel projecting through said slot, and yielding means on the tab for retaining the lid thereon. f

3. A sheet-material vessel having an integral tab on one side thereof, a lid having a slot itting over'said tab, and a struck-up tongue on said tab for pivotally retaining said lid thereon.

4. A pivotal connection between two members comprising a slot in one member and a tab on the other member litting through said slot and having a flexible tongue thereon for maintaining said tab within said slot.

5. A pivotal connection between two members comprising a slot in one member, and

an elastic means disposed on one'of said members in operative relation to the other of said members so as yieldingly to urge the members toward each other.

(5.v A pivotal connection between two members comprising a slot in a portion of one Vmembelya portion of the other memberbeing shaped to project through the slot, and elastic means disposed on one of said portions in operative relation to theother of said portions so as yieldin'glyto urge the members toward each other.

member, a portion ot' the other member being shaped to project through the slot, and a flexible tongue disposed on one of said portions so as to engage the other of said portions andyieldingly urge the members toward each other.

lSigned'by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this :29th day of March, 1916.

HOMER B. RICH.V

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, I). C. 

